Colorful Drink Mix Reactions with Metal
Materials: unsweetened powdered drink mix (any combination of Red 40, Yellow 5,
Yellow 6, Blue 1 dyes), fine steel wool (#0000), coarse steel wool (#3), 3 150-mL
beakers or 3 9-oz clear and colorless plastic cups, balance, hot and room
temperature tap water, 2-L plastic beverage bottle with a lid, 100-mL graduated
cylinder, clock, timer, paper towels, white paper, pH meter, and distilled water
Safety: wear safety goggles and gloves
Procedure:
1. Fill a clean, empty 2-L plastic beverage bottle with room temperature water, and
add one packet of unsweetened powdered drink mix. Screw the lid tightly onto the
bottle. Shake the bottle until the powdered mix dissolves.
2. Label three 150-mL beakers or 9-oz. plastic cups as: “control” (no metal added),
“fine steel wool”, and “coarse steel wool”. (Picture A)
A
B
3. Measure 60 mL of the prepared drink from step 1 into each of the labeled
containers. (Picture B)
4. Using gloves, measure a 2.4-g sample of fine steel wool on a balance. Repeat for
coarse steel wool. Caution: steel wool can be sharp and cut into hands. Compare
the appearance of the two samples. (Pictures C & D)
C
D
5. Rinse the steel wool samples for about 45 seconds in hot tap water. Squeeze the
samples gently to remove excess water and blot with paper towels.
6. Fluff each steel wool sample to the approximate volume of the beverage in the
labeled containers from step 2.
7. Add the steel wool samples to their labeled containers from step 2, and push the
samples down so they are mostly submerged. Record the start time.
E
F
8. Record initial color and pH observations. (Pictures E & F)
9. Make observations every 5 minutes for evidence of any reaction. Place the
containers on a piece of white paper to aid color observations. You may briefly lift
the steel wool out of the beverage for each observation.
9. Using a calibrated pH meter, measure the pH of the “control”, “fine steel wool”,
and “coarse steel wool” reactions every 10 minutes and record. When measuring
pH, tilt the beaker/plastic cup or move the steel wool out of the way so that it
doesn’t touch the electrode. Be sure to rinse the pH electrode with distilled water
and blot dry with a paper towel after each pH measurement.
10. Record the time when the reaction appears to be complete in each container,
and measure the final pH. What does the pH indicate about the reaction?
11. When the reactions are complete, remove the coarse and fine steel wool, dry
them with a paper towel, and throw them away. Then neutralize the coarse and fine
steel wool solutions with sodium bicarbonate. The control solution can be dumped
out in the sink.
Appearances of Steel Wool
Coarse Steel Wool
Reaction Start and Finish
Reaction
Start Time
Control
Coarse Steel Wool
Fine Steel Wool
Fine Steel Wool
End Time
Observations:
Control
Time
Start
Color
pH
Other
Coarse Steel Wool
Time
Color
pH
Other
End
Start
5 min
10 min
15 min
20 min
25 min
30 min
35 min
40 min
45 min
50 min
55 min
60 min
Fine Steel Wool
Time
Start
5 min
10 min
15 min
20 min
25 min
30 min
35 min
40 min
45 min
50 min
Color
pH
Other
55 min
60 min
Source: “Kool Reaction from the Fine Print.” Journal of Chemical Education. Vol. 83
No. 12. December 2006. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ed083p1792A
VWR Consumable Part Numbers:
Weight boats
89106-766
100 mL graduated cylinders
65000-006
pH 10 buffer solution
66170-848
pH 4 buffer solution
66170-830
pH 7 buffer solution
66170-840
potassium chloride
BDH0258-500G